How to Go From ‘Skinny Fat’ to Superman

Recently I showed an old picture of myself to a lady friend and her exact words were “wow, you were small AND fat”. Which was true, I was skinny and fat.

We chuckled a bit but the reality was that my body was completely normal, it's only now that I'm fit that my body is abnormal.

Everyday I see a great many men who have the same body type: skinny fat.

Skinny-fat-itis is the nasty result of not doing any strenuous exercise and eating junk.

But I'm here today with some great news. The disease of skinny-fat-itis can be cured and Uncle Victor is going to show you how.

But it's no overnight cure.

Let's look at some pictures of Uncle Vic that span a 7 year period.

The 3 pictures above are about 2-3 years apart from each other, over a time of perhaps 7 years. From age 23 or 24 to age 30 and from 155 lbs to 200 lbs.

Picture 1) Age: approx 23-25 years. Weight: approx. 155 lbs.

Picture 2) Age: 28. Weight: approx 170 lbs.

Picture 3) Age: 30. Weight: 195+ lbs.

As evidenced above you can transform, metamorphosize, and evolve from skinny-fatso to superman.

In the first picture I was 155 lbs of doggy-doo. That “physique” was the result of 10 years of no strenuous exercise and no attention paid to eating protein instead of mac and cheese.

The shocking part about picture #1? I had already been weight training for several months! In that picture I had already gained at least 15 lbs. I was even smaller before that picture was taken. In fact, my lowest weight as a grown man in my early twenties was 130 lbs with no muscle definition.

And as you can see my posture was terrible and I looked like a bag of estrogen. The darned thing is that I wasn't abnormal. That body type is completely normal, and, the worst part, my body was probably better than most other fellas. As I said before, I see guys who look like that every single day.

Here's the thing, boys: When you look good, you feel good. When you look like doggy-doo you don't feel good. But when you have never looked good you don't know what you're missing. When you start to hit the weights and pay attention to diet and when you start to get results that's when you realize what a difference it makes.

I used to have a group of friends who all looked like bodybuilders or fitness models. They'd say to me “you should start working out” and I'd always say “nah, don't want to”.

Looking back I can now see the development I missed by wasting 10 years doing no exercise. Boo hoo for me but now you know how important physical development is.

10 years wasn't too late for me and it's not too late for anyone.

What you see above is what I looked like 2.5 years ago after creating and following my flagship training program Body of a Spartan.

No cardio whatsoever, no supplements whatsoever. Weights and food and nothing else. It's not that I “don't believe” in supplements, it's that supplements don't work to build muscle and you can quote me on that.

If you're skinny-fat, or just regular fat, and you want 6-pack abs there are two things you need to know.

You have to eat less food to burn the fat and reveal the abs. No way around it, you must diet.

You MUST have a base of muscle before you diet. If you have no muscle and diet you will still look like doggy-doo after your diet. If you're skinny-fat you need to eat and lift first and put on weight. Dieting for a skinny-fat guy is utterly and entirely pointless. When you have put on a base of muscle then you can diet down and reveal the abs.

How to Diet the Easy Way

Here are the two easiest methods in the history of the world to cut down your calories.

Eat 2-3 meals per day.

Don't snack.

No snacking leads to 6 pack abs. I learned that almost by accident. I was living in China at the time and Chinese snack food is not appealing. They have things like corn flavored ice cream and things that don't even look like food.

Because the snack food looked so unappealing I never bought any snacks ergo I never ate any snacks. If you don't buy snacks you can't eat snacks. Never buy the damn things, #1 rule.

Once per week when you feel drained and need snacks and extra calories buy enough for just one day. Don't buy boxes and boxes of snacks because you'll eat them. Only buy enough for one day.

One other easy way to cut out calories is by eliminating either breakfast or dinner. I've skipped breakfast off and on for years. I've also off and on stopped eating meals at 8pm. Both of those methods work to burn off fat. I

stopped counting calories years ago when I realized how pointless it was. When I want to get leaner I do one very simple thing: eat less food. Drink some black coffee in the morning to help curb appetite, works wonders.

Dieting is the hard part, getting there is the hard part. Maintenance is the easy part. Nowadays I'm never more than 3 or 4 weeks away from a full 6-pack.

How I kept a 6-pack while eating junkfood, candy and soda pop daily

The above picture is what I looked like at the tail end of a 30 day trip to Vietnam. My eating “strategy” was completely opposite of what I told you about above. I was eating anything and everything I could get my hands on including candy and soda. But there is a very good reason I was eating like that: I was damn starving!

I was in Vietnam for 30 days and let me tell you two things about Vietnam. 1) Vietnam is hotter than hell. 2) Vietnamese food is made for tiny Vietnamese people. They like to eat noodles and vegetables with a tiny side of meat. They are malnourished to put it nicely and their portions of food are portioned for Vietnamese people, obviously.

I couldn't get enough food to fill my belly so I ate anything and everything. At restaurants I'd order two meals then I'd go to the corner mart and buy 3 snickers bars and eat them. I drank up to 6 or 8 cokes and sugary drinks per day because I was sweating so much and walking so much.

As a tourist in Vietnam you do a lot of walking and sweating. Not to mention I was still training hard 4 days per week. The gyms in Vietnam don't have air-conditioning so I'd be covered in sweat 30 seconds into my routine. So even though I was eating and drinking tons of junk food I was still in a caloric deficit and burning off all the calories I was trying to get in.

At the time I was in Vietnam a reader emailed me to ask what my diet was like while traveling. I told him. He replied “wow, I wish I was lucky enough to be able to have your genetics and be able to eat like that”.

Yeah, it's too bad you don't have “genetics” like me.

Actually, it's too bad you didn't read Body of a Spartan. Could have saved you some wishin'.

Until Next time.

Your man,

-Victor Pride

For more skinny-fat solutions check out these great articles from our Superdrive partners:

Uncle Vic! as always great post! Going to the gym after work and hit those weights! What do you recommend for a overweight guy like myself. You see i have the muscle but its covered in fat! Shall i be dieting more and lifting less weight or shall i diet more and life weights more?

#1 cut out the snacking and just eat meals. Do that for a while and then reduce a meal here or there. It’s not complicated, just eat less. When hungry for a snack drink a big glass of water or brew a pot of coffee. Most “hunger” is just boredom anyway.

Your advice is good but a bit too specific. Not all 3.5Bn men on Earth got fat on sweet snacks, or even they all eat them at all. The idea of grown adult men eating too many sweet snacks seems to be a mainly American thing. In Eastern Europe for example sweet things are often seen as childish, so manly men generally avoid being seen with a bag of M & Ms. We have entirely different ways of getting fat 1) drinking too much booze every day 2) eating too much fat, as in bacon and lard and other pork stuff, and also too much bread with it.

I was experimenting a bit with the EE diet, how to make it more health compatible without having give up its essential characteristics, and generally found the following rule: eat the lard and bread for breakfast, skip lunch altogether, have a very low-carb, low-fat, lean protein + vegs dinner, the typical grilled chicken salad type, + dry wine or vodka. The booze makes the body want to store the dietary fat or carbs – but it won’t find many, the breakfast is long gone by that time.

The easiest meal to skip is IMHO lunch, at least for us who are still sitting in some office.

Getting fat is not a natural thing for people. We do it not because of too many calories but because our bodies don’t know what to do with most of the garbage we put into it. Do you seriously think that you would get fat if you ate 5000 calories a day of vegetables, steak and beans? No. Stop drinking, stop with all the bread and get yourself some quality food man. We’re rooting for you.

Actually yes, you would get fat if you ate 5000 calories of veggies, steaks and beans. Hell, if you could eat 5000 calories of only veggies, you would still get fat (but it’s near impossible to get that much veggies).
You can eat 1700 calories of shitty food everyday and you wouldn’t get fat. You would lose weight.

Plenty of protein and can binge in a little on lifting days in the post workout environment. On the off days, plenty of lean protein, MCTs (Good fats), and low GI carbohyrdrates to avoid insulin spikes.

If you are fat, your body is producing unnecessary amounts of estrogen due to your excess carrying of lipids (fat). Once you start gaining muscle, your body’s BMR ( how many calories you burn on a daily basis without doing anything) will increase. With your body demanding more calories and your caloric intake remaining constant, your lipid profile will begin to look more favorable. As your body fat decreases, as does the secreted estrogen- this will lead to more free testosterone.

This is just a positive reinforcement loop. More muscle –> More calories needed –> Less fat –> Less Estrogen –> More testosterone –> More muscle…. (it comes full circle)

Warning: To those who aren’t fat (yet); this loop goes for your too, except in reverse.

Had the same problem for a while. Cut out sugar and fruit 6 days a week and followed the steak and egg diet with the warrior diet. Get plenty of sleep and drink a lot of water and DON”T CHEAT (unless it’s your cheat day duh). Give yourself 30 solid days of doing that, (as long as you’re hitting the weights and got the exercise down) and you’ll be rockin. Cut from 250 to 220 just doing that and I did not count calories either.

But nearly ALL American food products now contain HFCS. The cattle that make the “meat” in most hamburgers is corn-fed. Corn-fed is shit. Cows don’t eat corn, it kills them, they should be eating grass.

The best personal fitness trainers in the world do not teach what Victor Pride has created in BODY OF A SPARTAN. “the reality was that my body was completely normal, it’s only now that I’m fit that my body is abnormal“I was obese, then becoming normal until I bought BODY OF A SPARTAN. It’s easy to understand and the photos show correct form. That alone removed my fear of heavier free weights. Normal sucks. Normal doesn’t bring the global changes you know must be made right now. Be Abnormal. Get the book!

Being a former skinny-fat guy, I absolutely love this article. The only point that I don’t agree 100 % about is, that you should always build a base first. In most cases, this is true. However, some guys are more fat than skinny and they should diet down first since your hormones are primed to gain muscle at lower body fat levels.

Also, I recently bought your book Body of a Spartan, and it’s one of the best books I ever read on training even though I don’t train at the gym anymore.

“The only point that I don’t agree 100 % about is, that you should always build a base first. In most cases, this is true. However, some guys are more fat than skinny and they should diet down first since your hormones are primed to gain muscle at lower body fat levels.”

While that makes sense, it seems to me like there’s going to be some issues with that. I mean, let’s say you’re one of the skinny-fat guys that’s more fat than skinny. If you diet down for 6 weeks doing strict keto, don’t you think that, when it comes time to gain muscle, you’re going to be looking at putting back on some if not most of the fat you lost? 6 weeks of dieting (and the proper way to lose fat through dieting is ketosis, is it not?), only to turn around and hit the gym hard whilst imbibing a lot of carbs, milk, etc? Or are you not suggesting any sort of ‘bulk’?

I did it the way that Victor suggests; bulk up first. Even though it worked out well in the end, I wouldn’t do it that way again. By bulking up first, I actually looked worse for my first 1.5 year of training. When I ate a caloric surplus, pretty much all of my weight gain was fat. In contrast, when I gain weight now, that I’m lean, a relatively bigger amount of it is muscle.

I had my blood tested throughout my time in training, and when I had a high bodyfat percentage, it was accompanied by low testosterone levels and high estrogen levels. Gaining muscle is difficult when you have that. This is why, I recommend to lose the fat first if you are more “fat” than “skinny”. I’m not saying you should cut down until you have a 6 pack and visible adonis belt, but just cut down until you are fairly lean with visible upper abs.

About gaining the fat back when you decide to focus on gaining muscle, yes there’s a good chance you will gain some of it back, but you can minimize this by doing the following things:
1) Train frequently
2) Eat your big meals around your workouts
3) Eat until you’re satiated and no more than that. Your body has a limit to how much muscle it can gain anyways.

Finally, Keto is not necessary to lose fat, even though it’s effective. I don’t like keto since it makes me look “flat”, I feel like shit and I tend to lose a lot of strength on it.

I guess my question to you then would be what kind of foods did you eat on a day-to-day basis? Obviously whole foods, I’m sure.

However, a guy who’s skinny-fat -but more fat than skinny- is probably a guy who’s also very sensitive to carbohydrates, having eaten lots of them for a long enough amount of time to store excess fat, while not getting enough protein to the point of being skinny (unlike a morbidly obese person). I know ketogenic diets work to get the fat off fast, but is there a way you found that works just as effectively and allows you to steal eat vegetable carbs? Maybe IF + ephedrine/caffeine (saw you recommend IF on your website)? What role does calorie counting play in your mind?

I agree with you though; ketogenic dieting gets real old, even though you feel good in some ways, you feel worse in others (I find my libido decreases when I do it). It does get the fat off though, but it’s hard not to binge eat on carb refeed days.

I eat beef, steak, smoked salmon, rice, taco sauce, rye bread, peanutbutter, bananas and strawberries most of the time, but 2-3 times a week I go out and eat whatever I want. I don’t eat vegetables since I don’t like them (I take a multi though). I just try to eat a balanced diet to feel good and perform good.

The fastest way I have tried to get my fat off, is to just follow Victor’s advice. Try to miss a meal when you can, eat less, always start your meals with the protein/fat sources and fill up on carbs. 2 big meals a day is what worked best for me to lose fat. Also, I take nicotine gum since it helps me concentrate, and I noticed that it also surpresses my appetite.

I never counted calories. It takes the pleasure out of eating and following a healthy lifestyle.

Yes, there is, it is a tropical climate and fruit grows easily. But I live in a gigantic city and I can’t just go to a fruit tree or an orchard and grab some. It’s sold at the super-market or at the big outdoor vendor’s market near my residence. I only eat apples and drink coconut smoothies though.

To a point. An acquaintance of mine, someone who exercised a lot, brought type II diabetes onto himself by eating shit food and drinking pop all day long. Sure genetics played a role but why take the risk.

The bottom line is that you have more freedom with what you can eat, but you still need to take responsibility for your diet.

Sick post. The junk food maintenance diet works. Give up the shit while getting where you need to be. Then enjoy all the junk food you want once your cut. The best part is you only want just enough junk to satisfy, but not create a downward spiral.

This same strategy works for people looking to go from “fat- back to there high school weight.” I followed a similar plan to go from 235lbs to 160. Then I really started to get serious lifting and it allowed me to put on 10 lbs of solid muscle without losing the 8 pack abs.

Lifting weights is the best way to burn any unwanted fat. Fuck conventional cardio. Lifting, Walking, and punching a heavy bag is all it takes.

Vic, your progress pictures show the subtle ways losing fat and getting ripped can make on more facially handsome as well. Your jaw, chin, and cheeks look more chiseled and masculine since you got muscular, as opposed to the weak, flat look your face was sporting when you were skinny/fat

Awesome article! Great to the see the persistent pursuit of your goal.

“wish I was lucky to have your genetics” wow! Some people are really brainwashed. All this talk about having perfect metabolism and genetics is all bullshit. Lift some weights and get lean and all those “genetics” and “metabolism” problems are solved simple as that.

Question, I’ve been strength training for about 2 years now and I’ve put on 25 lbs just sticking to strength based program, How to Build a Classic Physique. Once I finish with this strength cycle, I was thinking about trying Serge Nubret for 4-6 weeks. I know you mentioned you tried this program as well. So would you suggest more strength training before trying that routine or do you think 2 years of strength training is enough?

But wow, “wish I was lucky enough to have those genetics” wow. Some people are really brainwashed. Genetics, metabolism, and all that other crap is nothing but a bunch of bullshit. Lift some weights, eat less, and get lean and you’ll never have any “genetics” or “metabolism” problems.

You should post how tall you are, so we get an idea how skinny 130lbs is on you.

An alternative to not snacking is to snack on raw fibrous vegetables. 1lbs of carrots is only 170 calories, and that is a ton of carrots. Your stomach will hurt after half a pound just from the physical space. You can even use a 1lbs bag of them as a replacement meal to really reduce the calories.

Also if your busy as fuck, you can use the low carb diettogo style services so your food prep and calorie counting is done for you.

And the I find bold and determined, an externalization of my inner monologue, but much more vivid and expressive. I have read much of your whole site this last few days and find myself much more aware of how immasculated my life since I turned 35 and how these last 5 years has made me a subhuman drek.

You speak realism from belief and understanding of basic male nature, yet you exude humility and a projection of ego in the same breath. It is a marvelous thing you do here Victor, your art is world class.

I am a former spartan, 6′ tall once 178lbs of vshaped bear strength now 225lbs of job stressed cookie dough. The cute fat Dad who snores because he’s overweight.

After loss after loss, after taking a 7.62×39 slug through my stomach, I am in bad shape, deep in debt, fighting the binds of a loving yet burdensome family… Only really Expressing my inner self through a tough guy facade and 400 horse power of BMW magic and a devotion to my son and my proud gun collection, i have been suffering through 45lbs of Monsanto lifestyle retention. I find that I need what you write, this is a new beginning today.

I just got up from the chair and did 50 push-ups and took a picture in the mirror, the 45lbs loser fat saddling my once cut frame. i chugged 24oz of smartwater, and here starts the return of me, inspired by one immovable object of a man. Thank you Victor for inspiration and vision, I have now refound my path to importance in myself.

Fucking DO IT MAN! Don’t ever give up. By getting in shape again, everything in your life will get better. I mean everything. I’m sure Victor would also recommend you go to the doc and get prescribed testosterone. Sounds like you need it.

Damn dude, I’d be happy to be 155 lbs, but then again I’m also 170 cms (5 foot 6).

I’m currently sitting at 145 lbs, which is an improvement over my former weight of 115 lbs. Yeah, I’m definitely a bit chubby around the mid section, but I’ve also muscled out across my chest and shoulders (not so much on my arms unfortunately, and whatever 6 pack I have is currently hidden beneath a thin later of fat). At this point though, I don’t really care if I don’t look ripped. I have two goals:

Get bigger.
Get stronger.

I’ll worry about cutting once I’ve put on some mass.

For now, I’m also going to start using your advice from your post on how to build bigger arms.

Good call. If your method is effective you will literally consume calories at rest or while

DOING NOTHING

which makes the pain of calorie counting unnecessary.
Additional thing on ab workouts:
do the “sucking in” exercise which was popularized by Vince. I know you also do that right Vic? That is the reason why old bodybuilders have this super-flat abs and not the portruding stomachs that the modern pros have. BAsically you suck in while doing a keagell’s manuever at the same time. Hold for as long as you can and do as often as you can within the day

That’s an impressive transformation Victor and some serious motivation.

I’m having trouble with the maintenance diet in BOAS. Maybe I have misunderstood because if I eat protein until I’m full like suggested I can get through about a pound of steak and 8 eggs scrambled per meal which is way too expensive to keep up.

Could you give me a guideline of how much protein you need to get a day on this diet, so I can work out how much I need to eat?

You’re lucky friend. If I eat steak and eggs, I’ll get full long before I eat enough calories. I have to fill up on the good stuff (meat), then keep eating stuff like potatoes and pasta just to fill out the meal.

I read body of a spartan about a year ago, and only now thought back to it and realized that I’ve been following your plan, Vic. I don’t plan out my workouts from day to day. I just think “Oh, I haven’t done rows in a couple days” and there’s all the plan I need. I workout every day, pick a couple compound exercises to hammer away at, and call it a day. It usually takes about 45 min, or I’ll do supersets if I need to get out quick (and get some conditioning in). As in BOAS, I vary my rep range widely, doing singles at times, and high volume sets other times, usually both.

I found the part on eating especially useful. I always thought I was eating enough, as I was the epitome of skinny fat. But really, I was eating too much crap on off days, and not enough good food on workout days. It’s gotten to the point where I’m essentially stuffing my face every day, but my strength and size are shooting up day to day.

I’ve read many workout books and tried all the shit, but BOAS is the best. You CAN NOT go wrong with it (and I make no money or anything else from saying so).

Do you guys know… The folks in England (doctors)… Have proven that when you fast for three days. Your mind will actually grow more Axon terminals & Dendrites . What does this mean? It means you grow the “hardware” in your brain to become smarter. This is a fact. Years ago the scientific world thought the regrowth of brain cells & other “equipment” in the mind were not capable of regrowth. This fact I am telling you is backed up by MANY peer review papers. If you do not understand the concept & the gravity of what a “Peer reviewed paper” is. You need to learn. This is how you give definitive proof to a scientific fact. Back up your argument up with peer reviewed work and you decimate all challengers…. Anyways… “Uncle Victor” as I am his elder I will call him Nephew Pride… lol Anyways, their was a great show on the BBC about this 8 months ago…. I cant remember and I will try to locate went into great deal about this as it was the focus of the documentary… SO…. this is what you do. ONCE every three months. You will go 72 hours without eating…. You can have a shit load of all the water you’re heart desires. THEN at 7:00 at night…. You can eat 1 little cables soup packet equal to ONLY 50 calories…. THAT’S IT!!!!! Its Campbells Select Harvest Light Soup. NO I do not work for them or have any affiliation. I suppose you can have any soup that is ONLY 50 calories…. If you eat more you screw yourself and your brain will NOT…. again NOT trigger to grow these cells. Not only that the process did AMAZING things to your fat counts and ALL types of wonderful physically enhancing things AND your testosterone will spike. Do you ever wonder why fat [email protected] are such idiots? Its because there are no new brain cells growing…. Yes I’m joking BUT… I highly recommend doing it

Also dudes… You can have 1 and ONLY 1 16 oz of BLACK COFFEE in the morning and…… between 2 and 5 It has to be those times. Coffee is drank also 1 hour after getting up.

Very interesting as to why this happens… And… totally makes sense…. God made us this way or if your not as smart as the rest of us…. “Evolution” designed you like this because 10,000 years ago… If your not eating your body needs to IMMEDIATELY produce the assets to give you the hunting edge. Is anyone thinking…. I liked him until he said the God comment. Ya, I don’t care if you like me. A leader ALWAYS cares what people think of him… The week beta and non-leader will say, “I don’t give a [email protected] what people think of me”. If you think or say that… Look around and tell me if your leader and if you are a leader think about the caliber of your follower(S)…. EXACTLY. Anyways… God designed you to become more intelligent when you do not eat… Jesus or Yeshua did 40 days baby…. Many of the great minds practiced fasting… SO PUT THE TACO DOWN….

Its actually very fun to fast & actually I wish Victor would incorporate it into its 30 days of discipline as the finally! Makes ya feel you really accomplished something hard…. Because If you cant do his 30 Days of Discipline… Not only are you not the man I am… You’re inferior to me. I highly recommend it… EXCEPT!!! There is NO [email protected] WAY!!!! I’m getting up at 5. No need in my mind… But I’m well off and work my ass off. Tons of you are beta male pussies… so you need to earn that shit. However, your just not as strong as a “man” as you think you are and I know only 1% of you are man enough and have the mental strength I do… to do his challenge. Even if you have your shit MORE THAN together such as myself… you should do it because its fun & gets ya back to basics. BUT like I said 99% of you bitch titted homos couldn’t do it if you tried… PISSED? You should be… your life sucks and I’m the guy talking your lady… The truth is your lady wouldn’t even be on my level… Want to play with the big boys and come play with the ALPHA’S? Then… I highly recommend you need to start somewhere and I don’t think Vic’s challenge is unreasonable…

I have not looked at a playboy since 1994. I get more pussy & I’m twice as old as many of you ladies…. My business partner is 46 and nailed a fine ass 18 year old broad last week…. We live life with discipline and my business partner at 46 thought Vic’s program was a breeze…. However… you 99%ers just are not the men we are… Again…. PUT THE TACO DOWN CHUBBY & grow some brain cells.

It’s rare to see a comment that actually teaches you something. Big up Italian G.

P.S. For all the “bros” who are scared of losing their precious muscle from fasting, get over yourself. That muscle can be recovered in a week or two. No one is going to notice and no one is going to care if your bicep went from 15″ to 14.5″. The benefits of fasting go even further beyond what Italian G said.

I also stated I dont care what anyone thinks of me because no one knows me… if we were friends it would be different. The fact still remains at around 40… I’m 5 times the man 99% of you beta males are. There are some VERY solid dudes that follow Vic’s post. You know who you are… Only the sensitive beta males will take offense to my comments because they have anal leakage…

Yes, 99% of my meals are at home. Chicken, beef, eggs, fish, veggies, rice, oatmeal = my diet. BUT! I swear to God I look the absolute best when I go to what I call “street food alley” and I buy some 3 pieces fried chicken from the muslim, a big BBQ fish, 2 bags sticky rice and a coca cola and eat a big meal. If I do that twice daily two days in a row I look ripped to shreds on day 3. I can’t explain the synergy but it works for me. I never eat at restaurants except when traveling or at the airport.

My current favorite meal is thin sliced beef from the grocery store pan fried with garlic and either onions or an assortment of green, red and yellow peppers with plenty of salt and pepper.

I don’t cook so when I’m in need of food I go buy street food or I go to 7-11 and buy a ton of hardboiled eggs and just eat those.

Vic, confused about your perspective on oatmeal. I understand that you used to eat a lot of it in your early training phases, but now you think it’s “slop” that makes you slow. But, this comment implies that you still eat it all the time. Do you still eat it a lot, and is that just for taste reasons only, or what?

PS – Tops supermarket do these ready made meals which are pretty good – chicken breast, sweet potatoes, a couple of other veggies… sometimes as cheap as 45 baht at the end of the day with a sale sticker on. Have a look.

I just bought your bodybuilding book, which I’m pretty psyched about. I’m too old to continue with the skinny fat thing. Today I was following a link from a news article and imagine my surprise when I saw that this muscle-enhancement/ weight gainer internet marketer totally ganked your pictures for their advertorial story:

XXXXXXX

What gives? I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t approve their use of your pics.

That first picture is the border between skinny-fat, and just plain skinny. It’s a good thing you started working out when you did.

Here’s a habit that’ll help you eat less.
Step 1: Put less on your plate than you think you’ll eat. You can come back for more later.
Step 2: Bring your plate to a room without distractions. You are absolutely forbidden from eating in front of the TV, computer, or radio.
Step 3: Take the time to chew your food and concentrate on it’s flavours.

Do this, and you’ll be satiated earlier and enjoy your meal more. Don’t do this and you’ll be pawing around the empty pizza box not remembering if you had one slice or six.

Victor, I have a question about girls. You wrote an article years ago that I write. You advised to “be selfish”? What do you mean? I am fourteen years old. How could I use this in a practical situation.
I am looking to pick up girls.
Thanks Vic, I know your the guy to ask.
Bryden

Hey Victor, long time lurker first time poster, I read about your TRT article and I finally got TRT myself. I am wondering how much you take? doctor put me on 100mg/ml of tes cyp. does going higher help ?

Lot of BB’ers who are on gear themselves will swear that it will be the worst mistake ever but I can’t find a convincing enough reason to run gear at say 20% Body fat while still following BOAS which should make you strong and ripped. Especially if you’re older and skinny fat, and starting later in life …..

My opinion is that if you cannot diet to get to 12% or below you have no business using hormones. 20% isn’t skinny fat, 20% is fat. Hormones work better when you are lean anyway. You can be mentally tough and diet and tough it out or you can be sloppy and almost certainly stagnate

I read a lot of these comments and think, “Guys c’mon it’s not that tough.” But then I think back to when I was fat and didn’t have the knowledge I have now, and I can sympathize.

Whether you’re skinny or fat, all you need to do is lift weights heavy as fuck and eat right. Lifting heavy as fuck means focusing on the compounds and really, really pushing yourself to the limit. To failure, throughout the workout, where your body literally cannot go any further. You’re shaking, sweating, making ridiculous faces and noises. When it takes you a full 8-10 seconds to get that last rep and you get it, you’ll feel proud of yourself. You will love that feeling.

If you are skinny, eat more. If you are fat, eat less. When you first start lifting, you’re in a unique position to burn fat AND gain muscle at the same time. It’s called newbie gains, and it’s not that dissimilar from juicing. After your body acclimates and you’ve made your first significant gains, you will plateau. Just make sure to mix up your routine and keep at it. Be honest with yourself. Is your diet on point? Are you lifting often and heavy enough? Are you pushing yourself?

If you’re fat, skip breakfast, moderate lunch a few hours before your workout, big dinner. If you’re skinny, just keep eating as much as you can, and make sure it’s mostly good stuff. Hopefully one day you’ll read the comments of beginning lifters and wonder why they don’t know what has by then become obvious to you.

I’m new here and I’m trying to decide between your “Body of a Spartan” and Matt Marshall’s “Classic Body Now”. Any advice on choosing the best for me? I guess I’m technically fat, 21 yrs, 6′ 215 lbs, some muscle from on-and-off half-assed weight training over the years.

These days I got my greatest gains because I am now structuralizing my Ironthumb protocol – and let me tell you I have been fasting not because of diet technique but because of lack of money at times -it is literaly STARVATION and I lift. I just budget some extra to buy a few eggs and a few bucks to pay a gym session (which is very cheap in our place – as cheap as 4 pieces of large eggs). When I cant eat I just chug on some VCO and it somehow fixes the hunger but I get by and I get more and more muscular every workout.

So those who are so afraid of “losing muscle” without food are idiots.
I got my greatest muscular gains now when I starve at times but I was well fed back in college under my father’s roof but I didnt gain muscle this fast

I would appreciate some advices for my father who isn’t fat but has kind of a big belly… What can he do to lose it? is it some junk stuck in the bowel or something like that? And no he doesn’t even drink beer. thanks

Most of the guys who claim to be skinny fat have no idea. I can tell by looking at photos instantly if someone is really skinny fat. Guys who are ripped to fuck claiming they used to be skinny fat and now they don’t have an ounce of fat on them? Please! You used to out of shape, NOT skinny fat. there is a big difference!
I can easily put on muscle by eating a shit load, but whats the point if there is ALWAYS going to be a layer of fat over the top?

Hi Victor,
I bought your book ‘Body of a Spartan’. I restarted going to gym and first time in my life, I got sweat falling from my body. I never usually get sweat even though when I play sport like cricket or soccer. I am skinny guy and started your beginner exercise of spartan and I am loving it. Neck bridge is awesome for neck strengthening.

Yeah, definitely cut out snacking. Its good for your body to cycle through anabolic/catabolic phases throughout the day where you take in and expend calories. During catabolic phases your body is purging your cells of toxins and filtering out nitrogenous wastes. If you eat all the time you don’t go through those normal cleanse periods and you’re sicker for it.

Hey bud… in one of your articles I stumbled upon the Super DMZ.
It might be a bit personal to share, but have you every cycled on a pro hormone esp such as Dymeth? I actually had been given a bottle of it by a buddy at the gym to me, but have never used one pill in it. He though raves about it, and how he has hunked up in the last year by doing two cycles of it followed by PCTs… he says he will never go on it again, though he hasnt had any major side effects other than some abnormal pumps in the lats and calf area. He is now in the maintenance phase.

However, Im very skeptical when I look at him. Makes me think he is on it every day, esp for the gains he shows. Half the gym suspects him to be on a roid all the time!

Hi Vic!
Great article. I’m 24, also skinny-fat type, and never weight lifted before, but I started 2 weeks ago, inspired by your stuff. I’m at the gym 5-6 days a week now, and eat 2 or 3 meals.
My only issue is that I’m always uncertain. I’m like “was this rep range and set number right?” and “will doing some excersice for my chest get it bigger or destroy my progress?” and “should I eat a bit more today?” etc. I’m always overthinking and fear of doing stuff wrong. How can one escape that mindset?

Hi Vic!
I’m 21, 6’2 feet, weight-81 kg. I lost more than 25 kilograms last year(so as you can guess I was quite fat), but even now I still have a protruding gut(not excessively, but still) and annoying belly fat. Somehow while losing weight , this only moderately affected my stomach and muscle is sorely lacking in that department, despite the fact that I do 100 Sit-ups and reverse crunches every day. I completely cut down any sugar(sweet) and try not to eat more than twice a day(I started doing the Intermittent Fasting (IF) routine) Should I diet and exercise in the gym(your Spartan body routine) or as skinny fat eat more(healthy food that is), no IF and with more than two meals per day with some snacking ? Thanks in advance.

I’m trying to decide between BOAS and Matt Marshall’s classic physique program. A large difference is that you only train 3 days per week in the classic physique program and every set uses the same weight. I’ve trained to train multiple sets at the same heavy weight and get too sore to workout more than those 3 days per week. Should I follow Matt’s program and only do 3 days per week or BOAS?

Victor, I’m confused. I’m skinny-fat and my body-fat is 18%. What am I meant to do? Diet for 4 weeks then get lean, after getting lean I begin to eat a lot and begin working out?
OR
Do I just start working out like that?
I wanna lose weight and build muscle. I guess I have to lose weight first. Thanks in anticipation.

Yo vic, i got a question. Im only 5’6. I like to lift weights, but getting bigger will only make me look like an oompa loompa since traditional bodybuilding puts emphasize on chest etc. I want a physique like sandow’s. Should i avoid benching? Thanks

Hey Vic,
I am only 130lbs even though I have been lifting for 2+ years, i started off as an overweight kid but now I have lost that belly (no abs though) and I am sick of counting calories and meal prep as it ruins my social/family life. Will simply eating 2 “regular” sensible meals aka IF and prioritising protein get me an enviable physique (muscular and defined)?

You should all buy body of a spartan as it lays down a great weight lifting philosophy which would take years of reading and research to come across . It’s not just a routine , it’s a taylorable philosophy that you can adapt to your own body and training needs. It’s good if you are into mma and it also takes into consideration that you are human and on some days your beat up unlike many constant progressive overload routines . It also works well for martial artists . Tweak the volume, splits and frequency and it’s the only program you will need it all fairness.

Hey Vic. I’ve been reading your site for some time now and have decided that I’m sick of being fat. I’m not obese but I could do with losing about 30-40 lbs. I weight 210lbs, 6ft tall and 23 yrs old……. My body fat is pretty high at 21% body fat. According to the tanita scale I have 154lbs of muscle, and the rest I guess is fat and some other things.

I’ve decided to eat around 1,000 calories per day until I lose about 30lbs then I can start eating normally and increase my calorie intake along with more training. I sort of see it as starving but I don’t know, I eat 2 meals in the day, no snacking and lots of water. I usually eat breakfast, skip lunch and eat about 600 calorie dinner at around 7-8pm in the evening. I feel quite good already, and have lost 7lbs in 14 days. I don’t feel like I’m starving but instead I feel better. I’m in no position to eat a lot of food because I’m overweight. So I just want to ask you, is what I’m doing OK? eating around 1,000 calories is ok for me? I really do want to burn the fat I’m just sick of it. But my plan is to start increasing the calories to a healthy range at ~2,000 (or steadily increase) once I’ve gotten to a lower body fat and lost around 30lbs. Since there’s nowhere I could get better advice than except from you, do you think I’m doing alright and should carry on with how I’m going and stick to my plan?

1000 calories is way too low especially since you are taller, but if it works for you that’s great. In my opinion I’d say around 1500 is good because when youre building muscle mass you don’t want to burn it off by not eating enough for them to grow. Hope this helps

[…] with age. As you get older you would notice your skinny friends become fatter and fatter or become “skinny-fat” that is because our metabolism gets weaker and weaker naturally especially by the age of 30. […]

[…] with age. As you get older you would notice your skinny friends become fatter and fatter or become “skinny-fat” that is because our metabolism gets weaker and weaker naturally especially by the age of 30. […]